


Tinderbox

by MidoriFlowersEwe



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Abuse, Bullying, High School Drama, Love Triangles, M/M, Murder, Mystery, Slow Burn, Tragedy, Who Dunnit, set in the ninties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 18:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13082550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriFlowersEwe/pseuds/MidoriFlowersEwe
Summary: On the 31st of October, 1998 a unknown male was brutally murdered during a Halloween party at Global Academy. This is the story of what happened in the months leading up to that event. Global Academy seemed like the perfect boarding school full of elites and socialites but it is rife with bullying, fighting and love triangles. The whole situation was like a tinderbox that could ignite at any moment.





	Tinderbox

"I hope this will be another fantastic year at Global boarding school!" The headmaster said, giving the students a wide grin.

Matthew rolled his eyes. He wished he could share the headmaster's enthusiasm: he was sure this was going to be another year of hell. As usual he would be ignored and walked all over by fellow students and teachers alike. He hated that his parents shipped him of here every September since he was ten. It was the same people, and the same problems.

"C'mon man, let's go!" Alfred, his younger half-brother said, tugging him up enthusiastically. "I wanna get a good bed this year!"

That was another thing Matthew hated about the boarding school: room sharing. He let his brother drag him along anyway, through the crowd of boys, along the wide corridor towards the dorm. The dorms were nice, Matthew couldn't deney that. The carpet was plush and red, and the beds were king-sized with soft mattresses, there was a large oak wardrobe for each person. Even with all that furniture, the room still didn't look cluttered, it was just that big. As usual, there were four to a room. Matthew's heart sank when he saw who he was sharing his with.

Gilbert Weildshimt. Between him and Alfred, the Canadian would never get any sleep. His brother was naturally loud and obnoxious, and Gilbert was even worse. Rude and arrogant, Gilbert had bullied Matthew since he first arrived at this school, he'd made him do his homework, and tidy his room and generally humiliated him. Matthew was too timid to refuse him, and when he tried to tell people he was just ignored.

"Hallo American losers!" Gilbert greeted them as they walked in. That was another thing Matthew hated about him; The German couldn't get it through his thick skull, that unlike his brother, he was Canadian, not American.

"Seriously? We have to share with you?" Alfred said, shaking his head, but still grinning.

"Ja- I'm not so happy about it either." The German said. Before the two got into an actual full blown argument, the fourth person walked into the dorm.

"Am I in the right place?" He asked. He had some sort of English accent, thick black eyebrows and spiky blonde hair that seemed to stick up in every direction. He scowled, green eyes scanning the room in obvious distaste.

"Oh! So we have a newbie. What's your name, kid?" Gilbert said, smirking. Matthew felt bad for the guy already, the German and his cronies always tormented the newbie the first few weeks.

"Kid?" He said, clearly taken aback by Gilbert (most people were; his blood red eyes and silver hair kind of put people of.) "If you really have to know, my name's Arthur."

"Welcome to the Global academy, Artie!" Alfred said, pulling the English boy into the room. "Just ignore Gilbert- he's a asshole. We're not all like that. If he gives you any trouble just come to me, because I'm kind of the hero of this school! And chances are he's probably gonna give you trouble."

Arthur pursed his lips, dragging his hand away from the American. "Thanks. I'll bear that in mind." He said, dropping his tatty case onto his bed. The American just continued talking, oblivious to Arthur's obvious distaste.

Sharing a room with Arthur turned out to be one of the best things for Matthew, if only because the Brit took Gilbert's attention away from himself (but the Prussian still forced him to clean the room and called him the maid) The German seemed determined to torment the new kid as much as possible. Arthur was determined not to let that happen.

"Vhat the hell is wrong with your eyebrows! They are sticking out of your head!" Gilbert said loudly, as they unpacked their things. Alfred burst out laughing.

"Don't exaggerate. Anyway. I've been meaning to ask you what in God's name is wrong with your hair? It's grey. You look like an old man." Arthur shot back quickly. There was a moments silence, then Alfred starting laughing even harder. Gilbert looked enraged.

"You trying to pick a fight with the awesome me!?"

Arthur scoffed. "It wouldn't be a fight so much as a slaughter."

"Ja! Because I would beat you up in like two seconds flat, blondie!"

"Now we both know that's not true."

Pretty soon the bickering would result in full blown fighting. On the second day after lessons, Matthew returned to see them both wrestling on the floor. Even though the arguing was annoying, and he always ignored him, Matthew was starting to actually like Arthur, or at least, respect him. That was until one day, when Matthew heard shouting coming from the inside of a classroom on his way to lunch, without hesitating, he burst in through the door.

It was Arthur, and he had Feliciano, a wimpy Italian boy pinned against the wall. Neither of them seemed to notice Matthew entering.

"P- please don't hurt me! I'm a virgin! I'm too young to die!" Feli whimpered. There were tears in his hazel eyes.

"Well give me the money and you don't have to get hurt- got it?" Arthur said, his voice gruff and harsh.

The Italian nodded quickly. He fished out a fistful of notes and thrust it into the taller boy's pocket.

"J- just take it!" Feli said, tears of fear now actually flowing.

Arthur pocketed the money, and stormed away "Tell anyone and you'll be sorry." He said, pushing past Matthew as if he wasn't even there. A second later, Feli ran out the classrooom also.

"Mama mia! I'm late for lunch!"

Matthew stood there, frozen. So Arthur was a bully, just like Gilbert. He should of known.  
_______________________

After the first few days back at the academy, it was obvious that Arthur was different from the other students in one major way- he was poor. It soon became clear to everyone that his tattered bag and scruffy shoes weren't just a fashion statement. Some people thought he was a scholarship student, but that didn't seem right either- he may have good greades was too much of a delinquent. From stealing, to bringing in contraband, he was always causing trouble. The only problem was nobody could ever prove it was him.

"How'd you think he even got into this school?" Gilbert asked one day at dinner. He glared across the caffe at Arthur, who was walking out after he'd finished eating. The Brit had a slight limp, and Gilbert had a black eye. They'd been fighting again.

Antonio, his Spanish friend shrugged, smiling obliviously as he chewed on his churo "who knows?"

Francis, his french friend gave a sly, knowing smile. Gilbert caught on.

"What do you know, Francis?" He demanded. The French boy put a finger to his mouth.

"It's a secret."

Gilbert huffed. "Aren't we suppose to be friends?" He said. Francis and Antonio were his long-time partners in crime- but they fell out constantly, usually over petty stuff like this.

"Oui, and friend's respect each other's privacy." Was Francis' only reply.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Ivan Braginsky walked around the school alone. But that was nothing new. For reasons he couldn't understand, nobody liked him. Sure, he got into fights, but so did Alfred and Gilbert, and people still liked them. Ivan always tried to be as nice as possible to people, always smiling at them, and trying to make them feel included. But they still rejected made his blood boil- they were just stupid little weaklings! He wanted to tear them apart sometimes!

They got a lot of free time at Global academy. Most people loved it, but for Ivan it was just time spent wondering around feeling lonely, missing his sisters, and Russia.. Remembering his father. The mafia boss. Ivan couldn't help but both admire and fear his father the man had such a deadly reputation he'd been given the nickname 'General Winter'. It fitted him perfectly. Ivan was expected to take over the family business whether he wanted to or not- that was the only reason he was at this school, to make foreign connections for the future. So far that hadn't been going well. Global academy was actually run by an old Mafia boss, a friend of his father's.

Ivan looked up at the darkening sky, grim resolve on his face- fine. He'd tried playing nice and smiling, but if people wouldn't be friends with him of their own accord, he'd make them! A soft chuckle escaped his lips at the thought. Yes. They would come to love him eventually.

It didn't take long for people to notice Ivan had suddenly accumulated three new friends; Toris, Ravis and Eduard. Three eastern european boys who were easily intimidated by someone as terrifying as the Russian. Matthew felt bad for them, he really did, watching them answer to Ivan's every beck and call, but it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it; there was no way he was going to risk his life getting into a fight with Ivan. It seemed as though Global academy had completely gone down the drain, it had become a place were the strong preyed on the weak, people like Arthur, Ivan and Gilbert controlled everything while Matthew was left on the sidelines.

Perhaps that was probably why the Headmaster decided to introduce a tough new military PE teacher to try instill some discipline in the students.

He arrived suddenly with no announcement at the start of a PE lesson (which was mixed age group). Everyone, Matthew included, was expecting another lazy hour, since nobody, not even their teacher Mr Harken took physical education seriously at this school, so the boys were all just messing around in the locker room not even bothering to get changed when the new teacher burst in.

"Vhy aren't you dressed for PE yet?" He demanded, with a slight, yet noticeable German accent. The room fell silent as everyone stared at him- he was tall and muscular with slicked back blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, everything about him was imposing.

"Who the hell're you?" Gilbert asked, the only one brave enough to break the awkward silence.

"I am Mr Ludwig Dierich, I am your new gym teacher, and from now on there'll be a few changes around here. No more slacking of." He said, firmly, before glaring at Gilbert. "And if you take that insolent tone with me again boy, they'll be trouble. I want all of you outside in five minuets ready to do some work. Go!"

There was an eruption of groans from the class as soon as he left.

"Aw man- the guy seems like a total nazi! What happened to our old teacher?" Alfred complained as he started getting changed.

"How dare he talk to the awesome me like that!" Gilbert said, irritably. "I should teach him how to speak to me!"

Arthur scoffed "As if you would! You're all bark and no bite!"

Matthew tuned out the arguing and complaints, he wasn't thrilled about the new teacher but he didn't think it was the end of the world like the rest of the class. Well, besides Ivan. He'd been smiling knowingly from the moment Ludwig entered the room, Matthew found it more than a little unnerving, did the two know each other?

Two minuets later, everyone was lined up in front of Ludwig in their sports uniform of shorts and a t-shirt, trying not to shiver in the autumn chill. Mr Dierich paced the line, looking over the students like a drill sergeant inspecting new cadets. "Can't say I'm too impressed." He mused finally, before shouting in his deafening drill-Sargent voice. "I only have one rule, and one rule only! Do everything I say!"

He smirked as the class flinched. "Now, when I call your name from the register I vant you to shout 'Sir! Yes sir!" Ludwig said, as he got out the register and began checking off names. Matthew felt a strange spike of anxiety about shouting in front of a crowd even if it was just the class- he felt as though his voice would break or something embarrassing like that.

"Arthur Kirkland?" Ludwig read out, about halfway down the list. There was no reply, everyone turned to look for him- he wasn't there.

"Dude, were'd he go? He was in the changing room." Alfred questioned.

"He's clearly skipping, dumbass." Gilbert said, with a sly grin. A dark expression went over the coach's face for a moment.

"I'll have to deal with him later." He muttered ominously. He pointed at Gilbert "YOU! Fifty press-ups for inappropriate language!"

"What! No way!" Gilbert groaned, "that's not fair."

"Ja, make it a hundred." Ludwig said, his expression deadly serious.

"Come on, give me a break, shouldn't us German's stick together?"

"Do you really want to do two hundred?" The coach asked, an evil glint in his eye. Reluctantly, Gilbert got on the floor.

And so began the first PE class from hell. By the end of it, everyone was aching and exhausted.

"My mother didn't pay for me to come to zis school to get disgustingly sweaty and be forced beyond my limits by a crazy German!" Francis complained as they left the locker room. Matthew was too tired to even be shy that someone as popular and handsome as Francis was speaking to him directly.

"Yeah, Arthur really dodged a bullet skipping that one." He said, with a tired half smile. Without warning, Francis stopped walking, and put a slender hand under Matthew's chin, tilting his face up so their eye's met.

"I never noticed before, but your eyes are such a unique colour." The Older boy said. Matthew could feel a blush spreading over his cheeks, he was suddenly aware of how close to Francis he was.

"M- Merci Becoup." He stuttered out, then mentally kicked himself for having such a lame response. Francis would definitely think he was boring now! But instead, the French boy just laughed, mirth dancing in his bright blue eyes.

"You're adorable." He said, letting go of Matthew's chin and walking ahead. The Canadian hesitated then quickly followed after him, the blood still rushing to his cheeks. He felt dumb for getting so worked up over one little compliment, especially since Francis was probably just teasing him. But he really couldn't help the fluttering feeling in his chest.

As it turned out, Arthur had not dodged a bullet in skipping PE class. He'd stepped right into a minefield.

That evening, when lessons were finished, just before dinner time, Matthew, Alfred, Arthur and Gilbert were all sat in their dorm room. It was unusually quiet, for once there was no arguing or fighting, and Alfred wasn't loudly rambling on about his day in every little detail. Matthew was lounging across the bed, enjoying the rare moment of peace and doing some homework.

Suddenly, the door to the dormitory was flung open, and Ludwig stormed in, a cold fury in his steel blue eyes. Before any of the boys even had time to react, he spoke. "This is Arthur Kirkland's room, Ja?" He asked, scanning the room until his eyes fell onto the Brit. "You missed your last PE lesson."

There was a moment of surprised silence, before Arthur spoke.

"Terribly sorry about that, Sir, I was ill." He said, his tone intentionally insolent, he made no effort trying to sell the lie. Ludwig's expression darkened.

"Don't worry about it. Since you seem to have recovered from your illness, you can make up for it now in detention." The German said, taking large strides across the room. "Get up."

When Arthur didn't move of the bed he was lying on, Ludwig grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him up.

"Hey- what are you?-"

"Take your PE kit." Ludwig said, his strong grip prevent Arthur from escaping. Matthew froze in place, too tense to move. Alfred stood up, as if to say something, but instead lingered on the spot indecisively.

"I'm not- " Arthur started to protest, but Ludwig cut him of again.

"Take your PE kit or you will be running around the track field in your underwear." Ludwig said, and it was clear from his tone he was being serious. With a defeated huff, Arthur grabbed his worn-down gym bag full of PE clothes, and glared at Ludwig as the German manhandled him out of the room.

"What the hell was that!?" Alfred exclaimed loudly. "Dude, that guy is seriously scary! Who cares so much about someone skipping a lesson that they like, hunt them down?"

Gilbert just cackled. "Looks like Arthur's in some deep shit now! I bet Sergeant Ludwig drags him of into some empty cupboard and bashes his brains in with a baseball bat!" The German laughed, with the tone of someone telling a ghost story.

"Don't say stuff like that! Are you TRYING to freak me out!" Alfred complained, throwing a pillow at his dorm mate. Matthew sighed. It looked like the peace and quiet had gone forever.

Arthur wasn't back in the dorm in time for dinner, he wasn't there afterwards either. Before Matthew went to bed, he looked out the window- he could see two figures out in the darkness still on the field. The larger one seemed to be shouting commands, while the smaller one ran around the track.

Even from this distance Matthew could tell Arthur was exhausted. He must of been running for hours now- So Ludwig wasn't going to let anyone of easy. Matthew made a mental note never to get on his bad side. Ever.

The rest of the month flew by. Arthur didn't miss another PE lesson, ever again, but it appeared that the damage was already done. He was Ludwig's most hated pupil. The one that always got detentions, and extra laps, and whatever other punishment Ludwig would throw at him every time that he felt like it. Even Gilbert with his loud-mouth couldn't compete with the amount of detentions the British boy got.

The only student Ludwig seemed to be able to tolerate was Feliciano. Even though he was one of the worst at sports in the class, Mr Dierich seemed to have a weakness for him, he never shouted at the Italian boy the same way he did everyone else.

"I swear, Coach Ludwig has a thing for that kid!" Gilbert would tell everyone. The only other person Ludwig never seemed to punish was Ivan. For some reason, he seemed to ignore the Russian boy entirely, even turning a blind eye to when he was bullying his 'friends'. Ivan was scary, sure, but Ludwig didn't seem like the type to be easily intimidated. Ivan always smiled at him, it almost seemed like he knew him.

Matthew didn't really care about that though; The only part of the week he cared about were Tuesday afternoons. That was when he got to escape Gilbert's bullying and his brothers obnoxious teasing, and got to spend a few hours alone with Francis.

Since Francis was the only other student (and probably the only one in the school) who was better at french than Matthew, he'd been assigned to tutor the younger boy. Alone in a classroom together.

It was bliss.

Matthew had always thought Francis was attractive, but had dismissed him as just another dumb playboy (the fact he hung out with Gilbert all the time didn't help.) But there was so much more to him than that; He was witty, funny, and kind. The two of them had long conversations in French. Matthew ended up telling him things he'd never told another person before; about how he always felt inferior to Alfred, how he felt as if he could disappear sometimes and nobody would notice.

"Ah, Matthieu, just because you're not as loud as your brother doesn't mean your worth any less." Francis said to him, during one of their deeper conversations. "If anything, people like you are rarer. Your not like the rest of the brutes at this school."

Matthew felt himself flush pink, the butterflies in his stomach were back. He felt practically elated. "What about you, ehy?" He blurted out. Francis looked at him questioningly. "I mean, you know all about me and my family. But I don't really know anything about yours, I mean.. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine.."

He trailed of. The older boy paused for a moment, a pained expression flickering across his face for just a moment.

"My mama is a wonderful woman. She's beautiful, kind, loving. But my Papa has always resented her. And resented me as well." Francis said, looking of into the distance wistfully. "It was an arranged marriage. They are both from aristocratic families, so it made sense. But Papa always see's my mother and I as shackles that prevent him from living the life he dreamed. His father would write him out of the will if he ever divorced mama though."

Matthew was stunned. He'd never imagine someone as effortlessly carefree as Francis to have something like that in his life.

"I don't know your father but- he should be proud to have a son like you! You're clever, and kind and handsome- " Matthew said, looking Francis in the eye. He suddenly cut of, realising what he had said. He turned the other way, embarrassed. He could definitely feel his face turning bright red now.

"Matthew?" Francis said, amusement in his voice. The Canadian boy couldn't meet his eye- not after saying all that embarrassing stuff! "Matthew look at me."

When the younger boy didn't move, Francis put his hand under Matthew's chin, and tilted his head up so their eyes met, the same way he had all those weeks ago after PE.

"I'm sorry I- " Matthew started, but Francis cut him of with a kiss.

It didn't seem real- Matthew had never even had a first kiss before, and now he was locking lips with a handsome, popular upper-classman. Francis was the one who broke the kiss, while Matthew stood there still frozen.

"That is one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me." Francis told him, he stood up out of the chair. "But look at the time, I really have to get going. It's late."

Matthew watched him go, still too surprised to say anything- his head was practically spinning.

"Next weekend we're allowed to go into the nearby town. Would you like to join me?" Francis asked, as he walked to the door.

"O- oui." Matthew said, breaking out of his daze. Francis grinned.

"It iz a date then." He said before leaving.

Unable to help himself, Matthew face split into a flushed smile. He had a date with Francis!

The weekend couldn't come quick enough for Matthew. He was looking forward to it for the rest of the week (not that his brother or anybody noticed his change in demure), but when Saturday rolled around he felt almost sick with nerves. As much as he told himself it was stupid to get so wound up, he saw Francis everyday anyway, he couldn't help it. He'd never been on a date before.

Matthew was almost missed the coach that took them into the town because he spent so long getting ready (in the end he was too self-conscious to wear anything fancy).

"I thought you 'ad abandoned me." Francis said with a fond smile, as they got onto the bus together.

"S-sorry, lost track of time." Matthew admitted. He cursed his nerves for making him stutter. He was a wreck!

"Don't be so nervous. We're going to have a lot of fun together." Francis said. He took Matthew's hand in his. It seemed to have an instant calming effect, and Matthew wondered why he was ever worried in the first place. He tuned out all the loud sounds of all the other boys on the coach (especially Gilbert, Alfred and Lovino who didn't seem to understand the concept of 'indoor voice') and just enjoyed the moment.

The town they were dropped of at was the only one for miles around. It was a was a poor fishing village that was full of derelict buildings, rundown caffe's and a handful of over-priced gift shops. It was like a town frozen in time, with it's cobbled streets and old cars. The one Mcdonalds restaurant seemed totally out of place in the otherwise old-fashioned streets.

"This place is so tacky. Really, it breaks my heart." Francis said, as they stepped of the bus together. Matthew couldn't help but giggle at his histrionics.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this place is desolate." Matthew said, as they walked along the streets. "My brother is always super excited when we can go here though, because they have Mcdonalds. His favourite."

"Yes, Arthur is the same. The boy has no taste! He think McDonald's or some greasy fish and chips are the hight of cuisine!" Francis scoffed, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "But worry not, Matthew, I know a place that is actually tres bein."

The Canadian smiled. "Of course you know a place like that." He said, then paused. "If you don't mind me asking.. How- how do you know Arthur? I mean, you two bicker all the time but you seem really familiar with each other."

"Oui, we are childhood friends. Although I use the term 'friends' loosely. We've never really gotten on." Francis told Matthew. "His mother used to work as a maid for my family, and she'd bring Arthur with her, so we grew up together. Our mother's were good friends, so when his mother died my mama paid for him and his brother to go to this academy so they wouldn't be put into the system."

"That was very kind of her." Matthew remarked. Arthur getting into this school made more sense now. "-wait! Arthur has a brother at this school?"

"Oui, he's called Merlin, he's in my year; Welsh, pale with freckles and dark blond hair? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't know him. He's not quite as fiery as his younger brother." Francis explained. "-Anyway, that's enough talk about that English ruffian! We have a date to enjoy!"

Francis was right, he had found a place that was tres bien, as he put it. It was a small cafe on the outskirts of town. It looked like all the other rundown food places from the outside, but the food was some of the best that Matthew had tasted (And seeing as how his family had their own chef that was saying a lot). It was all home-made by the woman who owned the place, by the time they left Matthew was stuffed with all the pancakes, and fondu he'd had.

"Ah~ what did I say? That was magnifique!" Francis chimed. Matthew nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the moment of bliss was interrupted by the sounds of shouting, rounding the corner, Francis and Matthew came across a confrontation;

Alfred F. Jones was squaring up to Ivan Braginski. Arthur and Ivan's three followers Ravis, Eduard and Toris stood on the side-lines.

"It's not right for you to treat them like that!" Alfred yelled, his voice even louder than usual. Matthew knew straight away that they were arguing over Ravis, Eduard and Toris. Alfred had made his disdain on the way Ivan treated them quite clear, but it had never escalated into an argument before.

"They are my friends, I'll treat them how I want, American pig!" Ivan retorted. He was smiling, but the malicious intent behind his eyes was clear.

"That's not how friend's work, dumb ass!" Alfred shouted. He turned to the three terrified eastern european boys. "They clearly don't like the way you treat them!"

"Stupid American, they like being my friend!"

The three of them just stared, clearly too scared to argue with either boy.

Matthew just wanted to walk on by, but the next thing he knew, Francis was walking over between the two younger boys.

"So, what exactly started this little argument?" He asked, with a sigh.

"This Russian bastard was treating those three like shit- I saw him trip up the little one then laugh in his face!"

The 'little one', Ravis, looked about nervously.

"That is how friends play, Da?" Ivan said.

"It is not! You crazy Russian Psycho!"

"Children, children, calm down." Francis said, with a roll of his eyes. Ivan and Alfred glared at him; Neither liked being patronised. "Ravis, Toris, and Eduard are their own people- let them decide who you want to be friends with. And after that both of you have to stop arguing about it, and respect their decision, oui?"

"If you were my friend, I'd always protect you!" Alfred said, Ivan gave a smile that promised trouble if things didn't go his way.

"Tell them him you love being my friend, da?" The Russian said. As expected, Eduard and Ravis nodded ferverntly like their life depended on it. But Toris stood still, slowly, he walked over to were Alfred and Arthur were standing (Arthur looked dejected, and was being uncharacteristically quiet).

"Toris, what are you doing?" Ivan asked- it was suppose to sound like a warning, but instead it came out sounding sad and desperate. He had a look in his eyes like an abandoned puppy. For a moment Matthew was almost as sympathetic to Ivan as he was scared of him.

"You will protect me from him, you promise? I can be your friend?" Toris said to Alfred, his voice hopeful. Just what had Ivan put him through?

"Of course, buddy, I'm the hero, and the hero keeps his promises!" The American replied. He reached out his hand, and the Lithuanian boy shook it.

There was a murderous glint in Ivan's eyes. "How dare you break up my family...!" He said, his voice low, hardly above a whisper. He sent one last glare at Francis and Alfred (if looks could kill) before turning away and storming of. The two other boys scurried after him like well-trained dogs.

Even though Alfred exclaimed over and over how he'd 'saved the day', Matthew could tell things were far from over.

That Monday when Matthew woke up for school, he was happier than he ever remembered being; He had a beautiful, cool, smart boyfriend and he'd just been on the perfect date (ignoring the last part, he'd found that kind of scary). No longer was he the ignored forgotten second brother, he meant something to somebody.

He spent that day feeling like he was on cloud nine- he didn't even care that he had extra maths homework.

That afternoon, he walked into his dorm-room, expecting it to be empty (Alfred had rugby practice, and Arthur had detention with coach Ludwig. Again.) but instead, Gilbert sat on the bed, his silver hair glinting in the sunlight that bathed the room.

Matthew prayed that the older boy would just ignore him, but his hopes were dashed.

"So, you and Franny went on a date at the weekend? What are you, and item now?" Gilbert said. Instead of his usual playful smirk, he had a serious frown on his face. Matthew just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Y'know he'll just cheat on you, right?" Gilbert said. "Didn't have you down as being another one of his sluts."

"I'm not!" Matthew squeaked, shocked by the harsh words- Gilbert had never said anything like that before. Gilbert laughed, although it didn't hold any humour.

"Oh, so maybe it's the other way around- maybe your using him." He said. "Thought if you could make it with someone popular your life would be easier- that I'd leave you around and people would respect you, that was your plan, right?"

Matthew stared at him, incredulous; Was that really how people saw him? As some kind of whore who was trying to use Francis for his own gain. "I would never.." He murmured, struggling to formulate a proper response under the pressure. He wished that Alfred or even Arthur were here so he didn't have to be alone with Gilbert right now. "I really like Francis! I do- "

Gilbert pushed past him, a snarl on his face when he exited the room. "I take it back. You're perfect as Francis' submissive little doormat slut."

Matthew heard the door slam, and he was left standing in the middle of the room feeling shaken and humiliated.

It hurt to breath, his legs were past feeling painful, and were now numb and weak, hardly able to support him, his body was freezing in the rain and his vision was starting the blur. Arthur's detentions with Coach Ludwig were becoming more and more brutal. At first he had tried to skip them, but the Coach was like a bloodhound, seeking Arthur out wherever he tried to hide, and dragging him out to the field to run more laps.

Arthur had even attempted just sitting down in the locker room and refusing to get changed in his PE kit or run, but Coach Ludwig would stand for none of it;

"I'm not running laps again." Arthur insisted, crossing his arms as he sat on the bench, a defiant expression on his face. Coach Ludwig stood before him, so close that their legs were touching. He had just dragged Arthur down here, and still had that furious expression on his face.

"I suggest you stop this foolishness, and get on the field in the next ten seconds, Kirkland." Ludwig threatened, his voice low and dangerous. Arthur gave him a playful smirk, a rebellious look in his green eyes.

"Or what?" He challenged, his voice full of confidence- After all, what could a teacher really do? Shout at him? He wasn't expecting it when Ludwig suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and forced him up, so they were face to face, noses almost brushing each other. Arthur tried to wriggle out of his grasp to no avail. The German man was insanely strong. He pushed Arthur against the wall, hard enough for it to bruise.

"Or I vill hurt you very, very badly."

"You're a teacher! You can't- " Arthur started to protest, but was cut off when Ludwid slammed him into the wall again, even harder than the last time. TArthur saw stars.

"I know about you, Arthur Kirkland. You don't come from a powerful family. You have no connections, no parents. Who do you think the establishment will believe if I were to break your arm? The teacher from the well-respected family, or a gutter punk?" Ludwig threatened. His eyes were like chips of ice, and Arthur could tell by his tone he had every intent of following through with his threat if it came to it. Arthur didn't scare easily, but in that moment, he was terrified- because Ludwig was right, he overpowered him in every way, from physical strength to status. "So- Are you going to do as I say?"

"Yes sir." Arthur said through gritted teeth, anger flaring in his eyes as his he felt his pride squashed.

Arthur's train of thought was broken when he felt a volleyball hit the back of his head. Already weakened, his legs gave out underneath him, and he fell to the floor, knees and hands sinking into the mud.

"I told you to keep focused, Kirkland." Ludwig shouted. Arthur didn't even have the energy to glare at him. "Now get up!"

Arthur tried to pull himself up, but his arms slipped from underneath him, he couldn't even support his own weight. He felt humiliation course through his veins as he struggled to pull himself up off the floor. It was hard enough just keeping conscious.

"Is that really all you've got? Get up, Kirkland! You still have ten more laps to do!" Ludwig bellowed, as he walked over, looking oddly satisfied to see his normally defiant student in such a miserable, defeated state. Arthur gritted his teeth; This bastard of a teacher! He would kill him! he would beat him to death! He swore it!. Ludwig crouched down next to him, and grabbed Arthur by the hair, pulling him up as if he was a rag doll, and inspecting him. "Hm, not so tough now, are we? You wouldn't be able to bully Feliciano in the state your in now, would you?"

That was what Arthur was in detention for this time- Ludwig had caught him extorting money out of that dumb Italian kid, Feliciano- Arthur didn't see the problem, the Italian kid was rich and Arthur could hardly afford to eat. Plus it was his own fault he was bullied for being such an insufferable wimp. But of course, Coach Ludwig had a strange fondness for Feli, so he had punished Arthur for it.

Arthur suddenly felt himself being picked up off the ground.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Ludwig said, as he lifted Arthur up with ease with ease, as if he weighed nothing. "You're weak. Don't forget it."

For once, Arthur didn't have a sarcastic remark to bite back with, and his eyes felt too heavy too glare properly. He was too exhausted to be spiteful. He was sure he had fallen asleep and his conscious dipped for a few seconds, but he was brought back to reality harshly when Ludwig dropped him unceremoniously onto the floor. Arthur yelped as he came into contact with the hard ground. He was sure he heard Ludwig laugh as he hit the ground.

"Bastard.." He muttered under his breath. Ludwig didn't address the insult, he just looked down at Arthur as if he were dirt.

"Strip." Ludwig commanded. Arthur just stared at the coach as if he had grown two heads, his green eyes narrowed. When he didn't move, Ludwig tsk'd and took matters into his own hands. Next thing Arthur knew he felt his PE shirt being pulled off over his head.

"H- Hey. Get off. I can do it myself!" Arthur shouted trying to pull away. He was once again reminded of how weak he was when he was unable to escape Ludwig's grasp. next thing he knew his shoes were dragged off his feet, and his shorts were pulled off. His face blushed red with mortification. "Get off!"

Ludwig ignored his cries of protest though, and dragged him up, and pushed him into one of the shower cubicles, and switched on the water. "You're filthy."

Arthur continued to struggle as he was hit with a blast of ice-cold water. The water pressured was painfully hard, enough so to leave red marks on his skin. After a few seconds he gave up trying to fight and just let it happen. He would KILL that coach for humiliating him like this!

Wondering the corridors after lights-out after spending time in Mattie's Dorm, Francis didn't expect to see anybody else up. He certainly didn't expect to see Arthur Kirkland limping down the corridor looking like death warmed-up. The Brit looked deathly pale, and Francis could see the shadow of a bruise forming on his wrists, and his hair appeared to be wet.

"What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now, Rosbif." Francis said, Arthur's head snapped up as if he just realised the French boy was there, his green eyes wide with surprise, then quickly morphed into a glare.

"Sod off, Frog." Arthur growled. Francis just rolled his eyes, far too used to Arthur's venom to be intimidated by it. He just took the other by the hand and started leading him into the bathroom. Surprisingly, Arthur didn't put up much of a fight.

"My mother would kill me if I let you get too badly hurt." Francis said, as they walked into a bathroom together. "And Unfortunately, keeping you from getting into trouble is an impossible task, even for moi."

"I'm fine." Arthur lied. Francis was always like this; The guy was so annoying and was always insulting him, but then, whenever Arthur was really hurt he transformed into some sort of mother hen. The two of them had known each other since they were children though, so it would make sense they would have some loyalties to each other. Arthur's mother had been working for Francis's mother since before he was born. Their mothers were best friends despite their differences in class; Mrs Bonnefoy was a aristocrat's wife and an esteemed artist, Ms Kirkland was a maid with four sons to four different fathers, with Arthur being the youngest. When Arthur's mother died last year, Mrs Bonnefoy took him and his other school-age brother Merlin under her wing, and paid for them to go to Globas academy for the sake of her friend.

"You always were such a terrible liar." Francis tutted. He could read Arthur easily: He had a defeated look in his eyes, the type he used to see when they were children and Arthur had been beaten by his mother's latest boyfriend. he pulled up Arthur's sleeve to inspect the bruising, and Arthur must of been feeling particularly fatigued because he didn't even protest. It was rare to see him so compliant. Arthur had been hurt worse than this before, but this time he seemed shaken. "Who did you have a fight with then.. Gilbert? Ivan?"

"It wasn't a student." Arthur sighed. Although that didn't mean he wasn't planning revenge.

"..Coach Ludwig?" Francis said. Working that out wasn't hard. He felt a flare of anger. Francis was the first to admit that Arthur was a punk who often deserved a slap around the face, but something about a teacher taking advantage of his authority and strength to lord over a student pissed him off. Rage slashed through his blue eyes for a split second. Well. He would have to sort that out..

"It doesn't matter anyway. He hardly hurt me. Just pushed me around a little. I'm just tired from doing all those stupid fucking laps." Arthur said, his eyes meeting Francis' before he pushed himself off the wall and headed out of the bathroom door. Francis' followed.

"Aw, trying to act tough. How cute." The Frenchman teased, unable to stop himself, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Shut up!" Arthur snapped, his expression finally looking less bleak as he bickered with Francis' as usual.

"Are you sure you okay. You don't want to sleep in my bed with me like you used to when you had nightmares~ " the Frenchman said, chuckling as Arthur blushed, his face suddenly a brilliant shade of crimson.

"You- That- I told you to never mention that! That was when I was a little kid, okay- so forget it! Ugh! Stupid frog!" Arthur spluttered, which only made Francis laugh harder. The two of them continued bickering as they turned around the corner.

A figure from the other side of the corridor with a pair of blood-red watched them. Gilberts lips pulled into malicious grin- He was right. So Francis really was cheating on Matthew, with Arthur of all people. Gilbert had seen them leaving the bathroom alone together- Francis was notorious for bringing people in the bathroom for a quickie. He couldn't wait to shove this in Matthew's face so he could see how wrong he was about Francis! Gilbert didn't know why, but the thought of Matthew with somebody else boiled his blood. Oh well. After this their stupid relationship would be over!


End file.
